On New Games

20 Jul 2017

Today I watched a video on Giant Bomb dot com, my primary source for information about video games and the video games industry. Today they covered a game called Gigantic, a multiplayer action game not dissimilar to Smite or Battleborn.

I was drawn in initially by the minimalist menu design, contrasted with the high-saturation look of the characters. The gameplay resembles a MOBA like Dota or League of Legends but with a much stronger focus on coordinated action, less focus on micromanagement like last hits, item purchase optimization, et cetera.

The game is free to play and I’ve downloaded it from Steam, but have yet to launch it. I worry that the multiplayer nature of the game will prevent me from embracing it fully. Games like this reach their zenith when accompanied by a group of like-minded friends, together as much to have a good time as to actually play the game.

The gaming community I’m the most active in is the fighting game community, and while there are some good folks there, not a ton of them play on the PC or are interested in an experience like this.

I will still be diving into the game and playing with randomly matched ‘pubbies’, but I wonder if it will last.

My other concern is with the longevity of the game. The long tail has affected multiplayer games too, leading to a few massive success stories (Overwatch, Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds) and the vast majority of games seeing their servers go silent with frightening speed.

This is not a new phenomenon. How many MMORPGs appeared and died in World of Warcraft’s shadow? How many first person shooters have landed with a wet thud when competing against Call of Duty or Battlefield?

I’m in a weird spot in terms of my relationship with video games. I’ve loved them since I was a child. My earliest memories are playing bad NES games with my brother. Over the last few months, though, I’ve found that I have been coming to video games as an opiate for day to day living.

I don’t approach them with a sense of play or joy or exploration as much as I do obligation, or as a way to pass the time, or catch up on podcasts.

Perhaps this is a result of being unemployed, or being self-taught as a programmer and writer. It’s difficult to overcome feelings of regret and/or guilt when I do things that aren’t immediately or directly applicable to gaining a skill or finding meaningful work.

This is a vein that will require deeper exploration. Enough navelgazing for today.